Thread-waxing device for sewing-machines



F. ASHWORTH.

THREAD WAXING DEVICE FOR SEWING MACHINES.

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1,355,1 18. Panted oet 12, 1920.

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UNITED STATES-PATENT OFFICE.

FRED ASHWORTH, 0F BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0, UNITED SHOEMACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW."rEnsEY.

THBEAD-WAXING DEVICE FOR SEWING-MACHINES,

Specication of Letter-s Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

Application led September 11, 1918. Serial No. 253,625.

To all whom it may cof/wem:

Be it known that I, FRED AsHWoRTH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and btate of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thread-WaxingDevices for Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declarethefollowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to thread waxing devices for sewing machines.

The objects of the invention are to improve the construction andarrangement of parts of thread waxing devices and to produce a threadwaxing device which is simple in construction and eiicient in operation,which may be cheaply manufactured and the parts of which may be easilyand quickly assembled. x

In making shoes it is desirable, in certain classes of work to use whitethread for stitching the outsole and welt so that the stitches willstand out clearly in contrast to ,the rest of the shoe. Inasmuch as Vthehot wax which is ordinarily used as the thread lubricant has a tendencyto discolor the thread, more or less, a preparation known as cold gum orliquid wax, which is in liquid form at normal temperatures, is commonlyused for waxing the white thread. The use of hot wax however ispreferred for the usual class of work and in order that a single machinemay be adapted for both classes of work, independent waxing means mustbe provided. The invention as illustrated and described in the presentapplication is embodied in an auxiliary thread waxing device which isparticularly adapted for the use of cold gum and which may be readilyattached to a machine provided with a thread waxing device of one of theusual forms for applying heated wax to the thread. The main features ofthe invention, however, are not limited to an auxiliary device nor to adevice for the use of any particular kind of wax, but are generallyapplicable to thread waxing devices.

The invention will be readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings,

which illustrate the invention in its preerred form, and to thefollowing description of the .construction therein.

In the'drawings Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation of a portion of anoutsole shoe sewing machine with a thread waxing device embodying theinvention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of said threadwaxing device; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the cover for the waxreceptacle with the thread eye removed; Fig. 4 is a sectional view onthe line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fi 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of ig.2; and Fig. 6 is a detail view, in perspective, of the thread stri per.v

Referring to ig.l1 of the drawings the head of the sewing machine isindicated at 2, thev upper portion of the pedestal at 4, the usual waxpot at 6 and the auxiliary waxing device at 8. The auxiliary device, asillustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and '5, comprises a pot or receptacle 10for the wax, a cover 12, removably mounted on the top of the receptacle,a dry thread tension device v14:, .a thread guide 16, and a threadstripper 18, all of which are mounted on the cover. The receptacle isprovided with means for attaching it to the main wax pot 6, this meansconsisting of a hooked arm 20 which projects from the side of thereceptacle 10, at the top thereof, and 'is shaped to fit over the topedge of the rear wall of the main wax pot. The receptacle 10 is held inan upright position by the engagement of a` lug 22, formed thereon,below the arm 20, with the rear of the main wax pot.

When cold gum is used it is important, in

order to preserve its liquidity that it shall not be exposed to heat.Inasmuch as the receptacle is located at the rear of the main wax pot itwill be unaffected by the heat from the other' parts of the machine andsince it is held away from the main wax. pot by the lug 22 so that it isexposed to the air on all sides and is in contact with the main pot onlyat the under surface of the hook 20 and at the end of the lug 22 it willnot become heated therefrom. The capacity of the auxiliary pot isrelatively small but as it is vertically elongated and provided with athread guide located near the bottom, the thread will be thoroughlycoatedwith the wax as it is led from the top of the pot down through theguide and back again to the top.

The cover 12 consists' of an elliptical plate rovided with apertures 24and 26 throug which the thread enters and leaves the receptacle,respectively. The thread guide or eye 16 is made of porcelain and ismounted in a support consisting of spring wire bent into hair pin shape,one of its arms 28 being fixed at its upper end to the cover by a'nut 30on a bolt 31 while the other arm 32 is free. The upper portion 34 of thefixed arm is bent substantially at right angles to the plane of the arms28 and 32 and terminates in an eye 36 which receives the bolt 31. A lug38 depending from the under side of the cover engages the fixed arm andserves to prevent it from twisting about the bolt 31 when the free armis being flexed during the process of positioning the cover as will behereinafter explained. The porcelain thread eye 16 is inserted betweenthe two arms of the wire support at its lowermost extremity where thebend of the wire conforms foi slightly more than half a turn to thebottom of a peripheral groove in the thread eye. After being pressedinto position the thread eye is held against upward displacement by thespring action of the free arm of the support and against lateraldisplacement by the engagement of the opposite walls of the groove withthe bent portion of the wire. When the cover is in place, the thread eyeis located centrally between the sides of the pot,

Vnear the bottom and serves to guide the thread through the wax. Thethread eye may be readily. removed and replaced by another by spreadingthe arms of the support.

The necessary tension is maintained on the thread by an ordinary form`of dry thread tension device 14 which engages the thread just before itenters the aperture 24 in the cover. The device comprises two tensiondisks 40 and 42 mounted on a stud 44 and held together by a s ring 46.AThe stud 44 is fixed in a lug 48 w ich rises from the'top of the cover.

Before the thread leaves the receptacle the .surplus Wax is removedtherefrom by means of the thread stripper 18 which is mounted on theunder side of the cover adjacent the outlet aperture. The thread 'striper consists of-a rectangular wooden It has been found that a woodenstripper block has advantages which render its use desirable. It may emore cheaply and conveniently formed and it acts more thoroughly tostripthe wax from the thread than strippers made of such other material ashas been used heretofore. This is because of a tendency of the woodenstripper to grip or cling to the thread due to certain inherentqualities of the woo and probably most of all'to the fact that wood,being of a fibrous tex ure, is not of uniform hardness and will not weardown to a perfectl smooth surface. In other words, although thecontinuous assing of the thread through the notch of t e stripper blockwill wear away the wood and deepen the notch, there will still be asomewhat rough or uneven surface, due to the grain of the wood, whichwill be in contact with the thread, while in the case of a metallicblock the surface would quickly become smooth and polished and itseffective stripping action eatly decreased. The maintaining of an eective stripping surface is further facilitated b l cutting the notch inthe stripper block with the grain of the wood.

adapted to engage a portion 60 of the cover on the opposite side thereoffrom the hook 54. In order to attach the cover it is first placed at thetop of the receptacle with the portion 60 temporarily restlng on the topof the hooked lug .58 and the hook 54 of the cover temporarily restingon the to edge of the receptacle. The thread gui e support will thenextend into the receptacle with its resilient free. arm 32 ressingagainst the inner wall thereof. hen by moving the cover slightly towardthe left, in Fig. 5, and at the same time pressing downward thereon, thefree arm of the thread guide support will yield and the\ cover will bebrought against the top edge of the receptacle with the portion 60 1nposition to be slip ed under the hooked lug 58 and with the ook 54projecting below the rim 56. Upon the release of the cover the springaction of the free arm of the threa guide support will force theengaging members into interlockingrelation and the cover will bemaintained against upward and forward displacement. earward displacementof the cover is prevented by the contact of the yielding free arm 32 ofthe thread guide support with the wall ofthe receptacle and endwisedisplacement is prevented by two depending lugs 62 and 64 which arearran ed to extend within the receptacle when te cover is in place andto engage the wall of the receptacle at the top thereof. The lug 62 alsoserves as an abutment for the outermost end of the upper portion 34 ofthe thread guide support thereby insuring engagement of the portion 34with the stripper block throughout the width thereof, so that the blockwill be `securely held in position.

It will be seen that an effective wax applying device of very simpleconstruction has been provided as well as one which may be cheaplymanufactured and readily attached to a machine. Obviously, the devicemay be adapted for attachment to some other part of a sewing machinethan the regular wax pot or if desired it may be itself adapted for useas an ordinary wax pot by applying a heating unit thereto.

As implied in the foregoing description the invention is not limited tothe specific construction of the illustrated embodiment thereof but-`may be variously modified in form and in minor details withoutdeparting from the, spirit and scope of the appended claims.'

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

l. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, awax receptacle, a removable cover therefor, intergaging locking members,one on the receptacle and one on the cover, a thread guide and aresilient thread guide supportacting yieldingly to maintain said lockingmembers in relative interlocking positions.

2. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, awax receptacle, a laterally slidable cover therefor, interengaginglocking members, one on the receptacle and one on the c over arranged tobe carried into and out of relative interlocking positions by thelateral movement of the cover, a thread guide, and a resilient threadguide support acting yieldingly on the cover to hold the saine inposition with said locking members interlocked.

3. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having. in combination, awax receptacle, a removable cover therefor, intercnoaging lof-kingmembers, one on the receptacle and one on the cover, a thread guide, aresilient. thread guide support arranged to hold yieldingly the threadguide in place so that the guide may be readily removed therefrom and tohold yieldingly the cover in position with aid locking membersinterlocked.

4. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, awax receptacle. a removable cover therefor, interengaging lockingmembers, one on the receptacle and one on the cover, a thread guide, athread guide support consisting of a hair pin shaped spring in the loopin which the thread guide is held having one arm 'Xed and the other armfree and acting yieldingly to hold the thread guide in the loop and tohold the locking members in relative interlocking positions.

, 5. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination,a wax receptacle, a thread guide, a thread guide support, a member towhich said support is secured and a thread stripper block locatedbetween said member and said support and held in place against saidmember by the clamping action of said support.

6. A thread waxing device for sewing machines having, in combination, awax receptacle, a thread guide, a thread guide support, a member towhich said support is secured, a thread stripper block located be# tweensaid member and said support and engaging in a recess in said memberconstructed to allow adjustment of the stripper block therein, and meansfor securing the support to the member and thereby clamping the stripperblock between the support and the member, arranged to permit theunclamping of the stripper block so that it can be adjusted.

7. In an auxiliary thread waxing device for sewing machines providedwith a main wax pot., a wax receptacle having a hook and a lugconstructed and arranged to engage the main wax Dot so as to removablyattach the receptacle thereto and support it in upright position.

8. In a thread waxing device, a thread stripper consisting of a woodenblock having a notch therein to receive the thread.

9. In a thread waxing device, a thread stripper consisting of a woodenblock having a V-shaped notch cut therein in the direction of the grainof the wood.

l0. In a thread waxing device, a thread guide, and a thread guidesupport consistingr of a hair pin shaped spring, in thc loop of whichthe thread guide is held, ha ving one arm fixed and the other arm freeand acting yieldingly to hold the thread guide in the loop.

11. A thread waxing device having, in combination, a wax receptacle, aremovable cover therefor, interengaging locking members, one on thereceptacle and one on the cover, and means for holding the coveryieldingly in position with said locking members interlocked.

FRED ASHVVORTI-l.

